Nuclear tests

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he supports the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) but is not ready to ratify it. The UN adopted the pact almost 20 years ago but it has yet to take effect as several key players have not ratified it. The CTBT, which bans all nuclear explosions, was passed by UN General Assembly in September 1996. Israel is widely believed to be the only undeclared nuclear power in the Middle East. It is among the signatories to the treaty but has never ratified it. After meeting with Lassina Zerbo, the head of the Vienna-based CTBT, Netanyahu's office said in a statement: "The state of Israel supports the treaty and its goals and has, therefore, signed the treaty. The prime minister added that the issue of ratification depends on the regional context and the appropriate timing." The statement didn't detail what needed to happen for Israel to ratify the treaty, or offer a timeframe for ratification. No timeframe commitment In addition … [Read more...] about Israel backs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – with no timeframe for ratification

Satellite images of North Korea's underground nuclear test site suggest that the regime is ready and able to carry out at least three additional detonations with no advance warning. The warnings that Pyongyang is able to conduct more tests just days after the September 9 detonation of what experts estimate was a 10-kiloton device - the largest it has ever tested - come from the South Korean military and images from commercial satellites analyzed by experts and posted on the 38 North website, run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the institute, wrote in an opinion article for The New York Times that the regime of Kim Jong-un had prepared the Punngye-ri nuclear proving grounds for "at least" three more tests. He added that any such demonstration by the North might be timed to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the regime's first successful nuclear test on October 9, 2006. "It is impossible to predict with any certainty a time frame … [Read more...] about Is North Korea planning yet more nuclear tests?

"Carrying out the test was unacceptable," the EU said in a statement, adding that "the test profoundly jeopardizes regional stability and represents a severe threat to international peace and security." However, the EU has also said it has no plans to cut humanitarian aid to North Korea. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer strongly condemned North Korea's reported nuclear test and called an emergency meeting of the alliance's ambassadors. After talks with members of the European Union's political and security committee, including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, de Hoop Scheffer said North Korea's test "…flies into the face of the international community." He also said that "it is a threat to world peace and security and will demand the strongest possible reaction from the international community." Germany has meanwhile summoned North Korea's ambassador to the foreign ministry. Germany condemned North Korea's reported test of a nuclear weapon and called for … [Read more...] about EU: North Korean Nuclear Test Is “Unacceptable”

A US think tank revealed late on Wednesday that recent satellite images suggest that North Korea is building a new nuclear test tunnel. The statement by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University confirmed earlier reports by South Korean media that Pyongyang was building a fourth tunnel at its principal nuclear testing site. "While there are no indications that a nuclear test is imminent, the new tunnel adds to North Korea's ability to conduct additional detonations over the coming years if it chooses to do so," said the website 38 North, the institute's North Korea monitoring website. The tunnel is being constructed in a new area of the Punggye-ri site, in the northeast of the country, where three nuclear tests have previously been conducted in 2006, 2009, and 2013. In September, North Korea announced that it was restarting its Yongboyn nuclear reactor, which was originally shut down in 2007 as part of an aid-for-disarmament deal with South Korea, the United States, Russia, … [Read more...] about Satellite photos show new nuclear test tunnel in North Korea

Days after North Korea said it tested a nuclear weapon, the House of Representatives voted almost unanimously to approve a bill broadening sanctions against the country. The North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act was introduced in early 2015 but Tuesday's vote came in response to the nuclear test. It seeks to constrain Pyongyang financially, so that it will not be able to obtain materials needed to build up an arsenal of nuclear weapons. "What we are concerned about here is the miniaturization of nuclear warheads that fit onto its most reliable missiles," said Representative Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and sponsor of the bill. Congress takes the lead The move can be seen largely as an effort by the Republican-held Congress to respond to foreign threats it accuses the Obama Administration of ignoring. However, the White House told the Associated Press it doesn't oppose the bill, which passed 418-2 and will move on to the Senate. According to … [Read more...] about US lawmakers approve broader sanctions against North Korea after nuclear test

South Korea said on Tuesday that it would ratchet up sanctions in response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. The government announced it would add 40 individuals and 30 organizations to its sanctions list, making it illegal for South Koreans to conduct business with them. The government also requested that its citizens avoid North Korean businesses abroad, such as restaurants, which Seoul estimates make a profit of around $10 million (9.07 million euros) every year. "Since North Korean facilities such as overseas restaurants are one of North Korea's channels for foreign currency, we ask the public to refrain from using these facilities," the government said in a statement. Pyongyang lashes out The move comes a day after South Korea and the US began their largest joint military exercise ever. Nearly 320,000 South Korean and American troops are taking part in the exercise, which was designed to prepare both armies for a potential strike from the North. The exercise … [Read more...] about South Korea slaps new sanctions on Pyongyang in wake of nuclear test and rocket launch

Following various intelligence reports, South Korean officials warned on Monday that North Korea is probably preparing another nuclear test. "Signs that it is preparing a fifth nuclear test have recently been detected," the South's president Geun-hye Park said during a cabinet meeting. Although she did not give concrete examples of what points to a possible nuclear test, Park ordered the military to be prepared to deal with provocations from Pyongyang. The US and South Korean authorities detected two to three times more personnel and vehicle activity at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, reported South Korea's Yonhap news agency on Monday. On Friday, a US monitoring website saw signs from satellite imagery that the North was looking to produce more plutonium for nuclear weapons. "Given current activities, we believe that there is a possibility that the North may stage an underground nuclear test, and are monitoring the situation accordingly," South Korean defense … [Read more...] about South Korea says North ‘preparing for new nuclear test’

North Korea said on Saturday that it has no current plans to carry out a nuclear test, despite what it referred to as South Korean provocation. "Through those provocations the group (government) seeks to rattle the nerves of the DPRK (North Korea) in a bid to cause it to conduct a nuclear test, though such a thing is not under plan at present," a statement from an unnamed spokesman from the country's foreign ministry read. The statement also claimed that South Korea's government, currently presided over by Lee Myung-bak, has deliberately attempted to spark a border incident akin to the North's shelling attack on a South Korean island in November 2010. It said the plan was with a view to exaggerating Pyongyang's "belligerent nature" in a bid to "create an atmosphere of putting pressure and sanctions on it." There has been continuous speculation about whether North Korea will undertake its third atomic weapons test since the country carried out a failed rocket launch in April, which … [Read more...] about North Korea denies nuclear test plan

The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to strengthen existing sanctions against the communist nation after it tested another nuclear device and fired a string of missiles last month. The new resolution bans all weapons exports from North Korea and most weapon imports into the country and authorizes UN member nations to inspect vessels they suspect of carrying weapons, military equipment or nuclear material. Permanent members China and Russia had been reluctant to support further sanctions, but China's UN ambassador called the resolution a "positive signal" that the international community was determined to stop nuclear proliferation. "By conducting another nuclear test, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea violated UN resolutions and hurt the effectiveness of the non-proliferation regime and affected international peace and security," said Ambassador Zhang Yesui. The Security Council passed a first round of sanctions against North Korea when it tested its first … [Read more...] about UN widens sanctions against North Korea after nuclear test

The world will hold its breath Saturday as North Korea celebrates the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il-Sung. The US-based 38 North monitoring group reported late on Wednesday that satellite images suggested Pyongyang is prepared to conduct its next nuclear test, describing the test site as "primed and ready." "Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea's Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site from April 12 shows continued activity around the North Portal, new activity in the Main Administrative Area, and a few personnel around the site's Command Center," the group said. Such a test would coincide with the country's biggest national celebrations, known as "Day of the Sun," on Saturday. Pyongyang has often used the date to mark a show of strength. In 2012, North Korea tried but failed to launch a long-range missile carrying a satellite, while last year it tested a barrage of newly developed intermediate-range missiles. The North has invited some 200 foreign journalists to … [Read more...] about North Korea could conduct nuclear test on day of celebration